Often the best way to predict the future is to take a good long look at the past. Today we look at the original 13th Company rules:

The 13th Company army list originally showed up in Codex Eye of Terror, from Warhammer 40,000 3rd Edition. It was 2003 and and the 40K universe and rules was a very different place.

The Eye of Terror codex was a campaign book similar to Codex: Armageddon. It centres around the battle fought in the 13th Black Crusade, in and around the Cadian gate, and was tied into the Games Workshop “Global Summer Campaign” from 2003.

Each of these lists was a very small affair, normally 3-5 pages long and each built atop it’s parent codex. Let us take a look at the three page 13th Company list from 13 years back to see what we may expect from February 2016’s new arrivals:

What we have here is the basic theme of the 13th Company which I would expect to see repeated with the modern ruleset. That is:

13th Company Characteristics:

Mobility

Note the entire army gains Scout – I still remember that one giving people fits at Adepticon from back in the mists of time. Think of what this could do to the poor, poor Tau.

Everyone gets move through cover.

The Rune-Priest had “The Gate” ,perhaps it’s original appearance in the game for even more movement tricks.

Wolves and Scout Bikers fill out Fast Attack.

Assault Focussed

There are assault units aplenty from Storm Claws to Wulfen.

Mark of the Wulfen was readily available to any characters who wanted it.

No Heavy Equipment

Long Fans are all you got back then.

No Drop Pods, no tanks, no Dreadnoughts.

Basically if the army couldn’t kick off a dead Chaos Marine, grab his kit, and retreat into the mists in a couple of minutes, the 13th Company abandoned it. Bikes were the heaviest pieces of equipment the armylist possessed.

I think this is great starting point and using the current Space Wolves codex I have very high hopes for what an army like this could do on the modern tabletop.

~So crack open your Space Wolves Codex and tell us what you would expect the new 13th Company to look like, and how to hand the last decade’s newly introduced units.

No, not really. The extra Attack per dude was essentially subsumed into the normal Grey Hunters etc. when the 4th ed. book came out, when everyone got Bolter AND BP+CCW. And, of course, we got TWC in that book.
Besides, no-one needs extra Attacks on units like Grey Hunters, but you did pay for them.

Secundum

You’re missing the point completely-when someone says ‘the best codex’ it means at that time period-the one it was designed for. (Hence why the Grey Knights Codex was easily one of the best ever-at it’s time. When the next edition came out it dropped down.)
Also, it was 5th ed., not 4th.

LordRao

My bad, 5th indeed.

No, I don’t think so. I mean that the 5th ed codex blew the 13th Co. book out of the water on so many levels. There was a short period of rage pertaining to the ‘taking away of Attacks’ etc. until everyone woke up and saw that this was blatantly untrue and what a completely superior book the new dex was.
I.mo. the heyday of the SW was definitely with the 5th ed. book, as much as I love the 13th Co. list and fluff.

Koszka

Wolves, werewolves, and now…

…Werewolves riding wolves.

I’m oddly okay with this.

A.P.

missing Frost…

Werewolves riding wolves, frothing frost bite batman….

Koszka

Frost claws. Why isn’t this a thing?!?!?

DeadlyYellow

I have that book. Got it in a cheap set of old books I wanted mostly for fluff.

No. Russ later left with his personal bodygaurd. The 13th went into the wye of terror while chasing the broken traitors during the scouring

TweetleBeetle

Grimnar disappeared heading into the Eye to follow them in one piece of fluff, but I think it may have been retconned in their last book.

No one knows Russ’ whereabouts.

PrimoFederalist

I’ve never heard of Grimnar doing that. Do you recall what it was?

nurglespuss

Lol no Grimnar never did that…

Spacefrisian

Maybe a mix up with Ragnar who battled alongside the 13th co for a while.

PrimoFederalist

No, as Gothmog said, they are two separate events.

The history of the 13th Great Company is somewhat clouded by myth: in one version they were charged with tracking the Thousands Sons down and pursued them into the Warp after Prospero. The other version is that, towards the end of the Scouring, they were specific charged by Russ with pursuing the Traitors into the Eye and giving them no peace.

Russ himself was around until after the Scouring (he and Dorn spent the Scouring actually killing traitors instead of taking charge of the Imperial bureaucracy…) It was on one of the feast days of the Emperor’s ascension after the Scouring that he gathered up his Wolf Guard except for Bjorn and took off. It’s presumed the Eye of Terror, but it’s never stated (although I think the most recent codex specified the EOT, so who knows).

In the retconned fluff of the Eye of Terror Campaign, they made their way back into realspace on the heels of the 13th Black Crusade. They were awesome because they looked like regular loyalist Marines but with parts from the Chaos Space Marines’ sprue (they have to scavenge all their gear). Because of that cool set-up, the new Beastman-looking Wulfen models are that much more of a travesty…

The wulfen were lovely models, really detailed and great movement, the new cad plastic ones look shocking…

A.P.

I didnt even look at the cover that closely. I saw the poses and assumed they were more Sigmar Crap, looks like that bad anime style is moving into 40k now too.

More Heresy plastic please!

latro990

gonna paint one of mine yellow

kaptinscuzgob

i really hope when CSM comes back it follows this pattern and just has a ton of crappy L&TD units

Spacefrisian

Cause Iron Warriors want there Basilisk back without bending the rules?

kaptinscuzgob

new CSM codex comes out, new units are just a pile of IG vehicles with the old chaos vehicle accessory frame, perfect

A.P.

i would just be happy with a Traitor Guard list that was not a Forgeworld Army list sol you could use it for tournament p.lay as BiA allies for my marines.

Chris. K Cook

If your Tournament doesn’t use ITC rules And doesn’t let you run R&H, vote with your money and stay away.

A.P.

have yet to be swayed by the ITC format. As a primarily Eldar player i fond it to be a bit Biased with their LoW options seems like Imperials are the intended audience for the ITC format from where im sitting.
Im sure i am wrong, Ill have to try a couple I guess.
really just dont like the tournament scene at the moment and feel like more constraints is hard to deal with.

Chris. K Cook

Don’t get me wrong, I’d rather uncomped any day of the week but if you must comp, ITC or GTFO.

A.P.

thats fair

Chris. K Cook

Also as an Imperial player I’m not happy with their LoW decisions, but that’s because I can’t run my Malcador Infernus.

Chris. K Cook

Umm the L&tD are already back, Check out the R&H list in IA:13.

kaptinscuzgob

FW dont count

Chris. K Cook

I’m sorry this is 7th ed, yes it gorram does.

Fenrisian

My thoughts are they will have Rending, Fleet, Move through Cover, and Rampage or Rage or Shred. They will either be Beasts or Infantry.

Ideally they will be an Elite choice rather than fast attack.

I’m guessing they will have some special weapons unique to them based on the look of the models. I’m guessing they will be S5 base, possibly I5 as well.

The draw back to them will be a crappy armor save but they will either have multiple wounds or FNP.

LordKrungharr

I gotta think Thunderwolves would be in there somewhere; however I would expect the HQs to be able to change into huge werewolves becoming the equivalent of Thunderwolves themselves.